Michael Carrick

Early life

Michael Carrick was born on 28 July 1981 to Vince and Lynn Carrick in Wallsend, Tyne and Wear, and has a younger brother Graeme. He first became involved in football at the age of four. A boyhood fan of Newcastle United, he played five-a-side football with Wallsend Boys Club on Saturday nights, courtesy of his father's volunteer work at the club. Aged nine, he had trials with Middlesbrough, Stoke City, Arsenal, Crystal Palace and Chelsea.

At the age of 12 he was selected for North Tyneside Schools. While playing for Wallsend Boys' Club under-16s, he was capped for the England Boys' club side. At age 13, Carrick was profiled by the BBC children's programme Live & Kicking episode 49, which aired on 4 February 1995. During his school years, and the years up until his move to West Ham United, Carrick actually played as a centre-forward; it was only at West Ham that he started to play more often as a midfielder. He studied at Wallsend's Western Middle School and Burnside Community High School, completing his GCSE exams in 1997.

Club career

West Ham United

Carrick was part of the West Ham United youth squad that won the FA Youth Cup in the 1998–99 season. He scored twice in their two-legged 9–0 record final victory over Coventry City.

According to his manager at the time, Harry Redknapp, Carrick's difficulty at the start of his career was mainly physical and he lost almost two seasons to injuries because of his rapid growth. He made his debut for West Ham in a 1–1 away draw with Jokerit in the UEFA Intertoto Cup on 24 July 1999. His league debut came five weeks later on 28 August, when he replaced Rio Ferdinand in a 3–0 victory over Bradford City at Valley Parade.

In November 1999, Carrick was sent on a one-month loan to Swindon Town and made his first appearance for them in a 0–0 draw at home with Norwich City. He scored his first professional career goal in a 2–1 defeat at home to Charlton Athletic on 23 November. He scored once more during his loan spell, netting in a 1–1 draw at home to Walsall on 4 December. Although he impressed during his spell he could not help the team find a much-needed win during his 6 outings, playing his final game for them in a 3–0 defeat at Manchester City on 18 December. In February 2000, he was sent on loan again, this time to Birmingham City, making just two appearances for the Blues. Carrick returned to Upton Park and scored his first goal for West Ham United, scoring the first in a 5–0 home win over Coventry City on 22 April. During his first season he was voted as West Ham United's Young Player of the Year.

Carrick made his West Ham breakthrough in the 2000–01 season, playing 41 games in all competitions, which included 33 games in the league. His only goal of the season came in a 1–1 home draw against Aston Villa on 9 December 2000. Carrick was awarded a new, improved contract for his progress that would keep him at Upton Park until 2005. On 20 April 2001, he was nominated for the PFA Young Player of the Year alongside teammate Joe Cole. The award was eventually won by Liverpool midfielder Steven Gerrard on 29 April. For the second successive season Carrick was voted as West Ham's Young Player of the Year.

The 2001–02 season saw Carrick make 32 appearances for the Hammers. Carrick scored twice during this season, his first was West Ham's only goal in a 7–1 loss at Blackburn Rovers on 14 October. He scored the first goal in a 2–1 victory over rivals Chelsea ten days later. Towards the end of the season, Carrick suffered a recurrence of a groin injury that ruled him out of the 2002 FIFA World Cup for the England squad.

Tottenham Hotspur

After one season outside the Premier League, Carrick felt compelled to leave the First Division, saying: "the truth is I didn't feel I could play First Division football much longer." He was linked with moves to a number of teams including Portsmouth, Arsenal, Everton, West Bromwich Albion and Crystal Palace before Tottenham Hotspur emerged as front-runners to sign him. On 20 August, a deal was agreed between West Ham and Tottenham for the transfer of Carrick subject to a medical. Four days later, the transfer was official as Carrick joined the club for around £3.5 million after the passing of a medical. He made a goalscoring appearance for the Tottenham reserves, but his first team debut for the club was delayed after suffering an injury setback on 13 September. Carrick was assigned the number 23 shirt and made his Tottenham debut on 18 October as a substitute in a 1–0 defeat at Portsmouth.

Despite being fit he was often overlooked by then-manager Jacques Santini. It was unclear as to whether Santini really wanted him at all as there was much media speculation that Carrick was bought by Tottenham's Director of Football Frank Arnesen rather than Santini. However, following the departure of Santini and the appointment of new manager Martin Jol he soon emerged as a regular starter in midfield. His first full start for Tottenham was also Jol's first game in charge of the club away to Burnley in the League Cup on 9 November. During the game he assisted a goal for Robbie Keane as they went on to win 3–0. On 18 December, he produced a display that was influential in helping Tottenham to a 5–1 win at home over Southampton. Carrick subsequently ended the 2004–05 season with 29 league appearances but failed to score as they finished the table in 9th and missed out on a UEFA Cup spot.

On 3 December 2005, Carrick scored his first Tottenham goal as he netted the winner in a 3–2 home win over Sunderland. He scored his second goal for the club on 8 April 2006 in a 2–1 win at home over Manchester City. On 22 April, Carrick was lauded for his performance, which helped Tottenham to a 1–1 away draw in the North London derby against Arsenal. On 7 May, Carrick was one of 10 Tottenham players who fell ill at a hotel just before their final game of the season away to West Ham as the players suffered from an outbreak of norovirus, which was initially reported and widely misconceived to have been food poisoning. Carrick managed to play in the game but lasted just 63 minutes in the 2–1 defeat to his former club. As a result of the loss rivals Arsenal beat them to fourth place in the league and the spot for the Champions League. He made more crosses and more passes than any other Tottenham player during the 2005–06 season, and along with Mido was joint top in assists.

Manchester United

On 10 June, Tottenham revealed they had rejected a bid from Manchester United for Carrick, who was seen by their manager Alex Ferguson as a replacement for the departed Roy Keane, the former club captain. The following day, Tottenham manager Martin Jol insisted Carrick would be staying with the club, stating "I don't want to lose a player like Michael, who was probably our best midfielder last season". On 28 July, Tottenham announced that the clubs agreed a deal for the transfer of Carrick to Manchester United. Three days later, the transfer was official as personal terms were agreed with Carrick. Despite agreeing a deal for the player the previous week, the fee was not made public until Spurs issued a statement to the stock exchange. Manchester United's chief executive David Gill confirmed the transfer fee as £14 million, potentially rising to £18.6 million, which would make Carrick the sixth most expensive player acquired by Manchester United at the time. He was given the number 16 shirt, previously worn by Keane.

Carrick made his debut for the club on 4 August 2006 in a 3–1 pre-season friendly win over Porto in the Amsterdam Tournament. The following day, Carrick was forced to miss the start of the 2006–07 season as a result of injuring his foot during the final tournament match against Ajax. Following his recovery from this injury he made his competitive debut on 23 August in a 3–0 away league win over Charlton Athletic. Three days later, he made his first start for the club in a 2–1 win away over Watford. Towards the end of December he missed two games as he suffered a minor injury. He returned in time to feature in United's final game of 2006, a 3–2 home win over Reading on 30 December. On 13 January 2007, Carrick scored his first Manchester United goal in a 3–1 win at home over Aston Villa. One month later, he scored his first ever FA Cup goal in a 1–1 draw at home to Reading on 17 February. He followed this up by contributing one of United's goals in a 4–1 home win over Blackburn Rovers on 31 March. Carrick scored his first-ever Champions League goals on 10 April, scoring twice in a 7–1 home win over Roma in their quarter-final second leg tie. They would go on to lose their semi-final tie 5–3 on aggregate to eventual winners AC Milan, ending their hopes of an all English final against arch-rivals Liverpool. He scored his final goal of the season in a 2–0 win at home over Sheffield United on 17 April. His first season with Manchester United ended in success, as they won the Premier League title as a result of Chelsea's 1–1 draw with Arsenal on 6 May.

Carrick suffered an injury setback in October 2007 after breaking his elbow in a 1–0 home win over Roma in the Champions League group stage. As a result of the injury he would be out of action for up to six weeks. His return to action came on 3 November as a substitute for Anderson in a 2–2 draw at Arsenal. Carrick scored his first goal of the season on 10 February 2008 in the Manchester derby, his goal came in injury time and was mere consolation in a 2–1 home loss to rivals Manchester City. His second and final goal of the season came against his former club West Ham United in a 4–1 win at home on 3 May. Although he scored just two league goals that season it still led to another league title as United beat Wigan Athletic on the final day of the season to prevent Chelsea from reaching the top spot. On 18 April, one week on from their title success Carrick was offered a new five-year contract along with defenders Rio Ferdinand and Wes Brown. A four-year contract was then signed on 17 May 2008, which tied Carrick to United until at least June 2012. He participated in his first-ever Champions League final on 21 May in Moscow, playing the full 120 minutes in a 6–5 penalty shootout win over Chelsea in the 2008 final. The scoreline ended 1–1 after extra time, he took United's second penalty of the subsequent shootout, which he converted to help give him the first European honour of his career.

International career

Carrick was capped by the England national under-18 and under-21 teams before receiving his first call-up to the senior team in Sven-Göran Eriksson's first game in charge of England in February 2001. Despite being named in the 31-man squad to face Spain, he was an unused substitute in England's 3–0 victory on 28 February. Three months later he made his England debut, replacing David Beckham as a second-half substitute in a 4–0 friendly win over Mexico. His full debut came during their 2–1 victory over the United States on 28 May 2005. Three days later Carrick started again in a 3–2 victory over Colombia in the final game of their tour of the US.

On 8 May 2006, Eriksson named Carrick in a 23-man provisional squad for the 2006 FIFA World Cup, eventually being named in the final 23-man squad for the tournament in Germany. He was an unused substitute for all three of England's Group B games as they advanced to the knockout stage. Carrick played just one game in the tournament, a 1–0 victory in the second round match against Ecuador on 25 June. The next game he was dropped to the bench for the quarter-final tie against Portugal, with Owen Hargreaves replacing him. The game ended goalless after extra time, Portugal won 3–1 in the subsequent penalty shootout and knocked England out of the World Cup.

Carrick had been regularly overlooked by various England managers when it came to the central roles, with Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard generally being preferred. He started nine games under Sven-Göran Eriksson and his successor Steve McClaren. His last appearance under McClaren was in a 2–1 defeat at home to Germany in August 2007. Newly appointed manager Fabio Capello left Carrick out of his first England squad on 2 February 2008. During Capello's first year in charge of England Carrick was largely overlooked. However, he was named in Capello's squad for the game against the Czech Republic, but was forced to withdraw after sustaining an injury during Manchester United's game with Newcastle United. In November 2008, he returned to the squad for a friendly against Germany in Berlin. Starting alongside Gareth Barry in central midfield in England's 2–1 victory, he was named as Man of the Match by the BBC.

Despite playing just one game during England's 2010 World Cup qualification campaign, he was named in Capello's 30-man preliminary squad for the 2010 World Cup on 11 May 2010. He played 61 minutes of their 3–1 warm-up friendly win over Mexico before being replaced by Tom Huddlestone. On 2 June, Carrick was then named in the final 23-man squad to fly to South Africa for the tournament, before being given the squad number 22. During the World Cup Carrick failed to make it onto the pitch, remaining an unused member of the squad. England were eventually knocked out of the tournament as they lost 4–1 to Germany in their second round tie on 27 June. On 6 August, Alex Ferguson claimed Carrick would be out for two weeks with an ankle injury and would miss England's friendly against Hungary the following Wednesday. Capello left Carrick out of the subsequent England squad only to arrive at Wembley and see him play 79 minutes of the Community Shield match. Capello made a 'call me' sign as Carrick walked past his seat to collect the winner's medal.

Coaching career

Manchester United

Carrick remained at Manchester United after retirement, having been handed a position on José Mourinho's coaching staff, alongside fellow new appointee Kieran McKenna; both were filling the void left by former assistant manager Rui Faria, who opted to begin his own spell in management. Mourinho was sacked by United on 18 December 2018, following an indifferent first half of the season, resulting in Carrick briefly being named acting caretaker manager, prior to the appointment of another former United player Ole Gunnar Solskjær into that position for the rest of the season. Solskjær retained Carrick as part of his coaching staff, with Solskjær and his coaching staff being appointed on a permanent basis in March 2019.

On 21 November 2021, after Ole Gunnar Solskjær left his role as manager, Carrick was named caretaker manager. Carrick's first match in charge was a UEFA Champions League tie away at Villarreal, which United won thanks to late goals from Cristiano Ronaldo and a first United goal for Jadon Sancho, sealing United's place in the last-16 of the competition. Following a 3–2 victory against Arsenal on 2 December, Carrick stepped down as first team coach and left Manchester United with immediate effect, shortly after the appointment of Ralf Rangnick as interim manager, who would go on to remain in the role for the rest of the season. During his three match reign as caretaker manager, he recorded two wins and one draw, with United also having drawn with Chelsea in his first Premier League game.

Middlesbrough

On 24 October 2022, Carrick was appointed head coach of Championship club Middlesbrough. Middlesbrough were 21st in the Championship at the time of his appointment, with 17 points from 16 games played, one point above the relegation zone. Despite taking the lead, Middlesbrough lost Carrick's first game in charge 2–1 away to Preston North End on 29 October. Carrick won 16 of his first 23 Middlesbrough games as the club began to climb the table. On 7 December 2022, Carrick was nominated for the EFL Championship Manager of the Month award for November after his first calendar month in charge. Ten points from four matches, scoring thirteen goals along the way, saw him win the award for March 2023. After guiding his side to a fourth-place finish, Middlesbrough lost in the play-off semi-finals to Coventry City.

In his second season with Boro, Carrick guided Middlesbrough to the semi-finals of the EFL Cup for the first time since winning the 2004 final. Middlesbrough won the first leg 1–0 at home against Chelsea, but lost 6–1 in the return fixture. Middlesbrough ended their 2023–24 campaign in eighth position. On 3 June 2024, Carrick signed a new three-year contract.

On 4 June 2025, Carrick was sacked by Middlesbrough following a tenth-placed finish.

Return to Manchester United

Carrick returned to Manchester United on 13 January 2026 to take over as head coach until the end of the 2025–26 season. Four days later, on 17 January, he led the team to a 2–0 win over Manchester City in the Manchester derby. It was United's first win over their rivals at Old Trafford since January 2023. He went on to win his second game in charge which was against Arsenal, a 3–2 thriller on 25 January, earning United a 100th win over The Gunners and the club's first away league victory over their rivals since December 2017. After squeezing a 3–2 home win against Fulham, he then led the team to a fourth consecutive win, beating another London club and one of his former employers in Tottenham Hotspur, in what was United's first win against Spurs since October 2022. However, the winning streak was ended as they only scraped a 1–1 draw at West Ham United, his other former employer. This result ensured Manchester United end the season unbeaten against West Ham for the first time since the 2020–21 season, but was also the first time in 92 years that Manchester United were unable to defeat West Ham in consecutive league seasons, when they lost all four fixtures in the 1932–33 and 1933–34 Second Division seasons. Under Carrick, United finished the season in 3rd place, qualifying for the 2026–27 UEFA Champions League. Having amassed the most points in the league since his arrival, Carrick was nominated for the Premier League Manager of the Season award.

On 22 May 2026, it was announced that Carrick had signed a new contract to continue as United's head coach through to 2028.

Player profile

Style of play

Despite playing as a deep-lying midfielder, Carrick did not rely on pace, stamina, physical attributes, box-to-box play and tackling like a typical ball-winning midfielder; instead, his intelligence and composure on reading of the game helped him to anticipate any attacking threats from the opposition team, most of the time by covering space and making interceptions. According to an analysis by Tifo Football, Carrick relied heavily on constant scanning, turning his head every two seconds to maintain awareness of both teammates and opponents. The analysis highlighted his strong defensive metrics, noting that he committed remarkably few fouls while breaking up play. His distribution of the ball, vision, creativity, playmaking skills, crossing ability, and range of passing, among the best in comparison to other midfielders in Europe, was allied to an ability to dictate the tempo of the game, as well as initiate team attacks.

After his arrival at Manchester United in 2006, Carrick formed an effective partnership with Paul Scholes, with Carrick playing in a holding role and Scholes alongside him as a deep-seated playmaker. Former teammate Gary Neville compared playing with the midfield duo to "going into a bar and hearing a piano playing." This midfield partnership contributed to a change towards a continental playing style embraced by manager Alex Ferguson and assistant Carlos Queiroz, which relied on passing and keeping possession in contrast to the more traditionally direct and all-action style of English football.

Reception and image

Former manager Alex Ferguson remarked that in his early period at Manchester United, Carrick was "a shy boy who needed to be shaken at times". His unassuming style, however, also led to a lack of attention from successive England national team managers in favour of all-action midfielders such as Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard. In his autobiography, Ferguson remarked that Carrick "lacked the bravado" of Lampard and Gerrard, adding that he "suffered in the shadow of those two big personalities". Although Carrick has a quiet and reserved personality, he has been described as possessing resilience and determination. Ferguson wrote, "There is a casualness about him that causes people to misunderstand his value and his constitution."

In 2008, Carrick's ability to dictate the tempo from deep led UEFA to describe him as the "metronome" of Manchester United's midfield. Carrick's intelligence and awareness were highlighted by former Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal, who labelled him his "trainer coach during the game". Jonathan Wilson described Carrick as an "invaluable cog" for Manchester United during the van Gaal era, noting his "calming demeanour" provided essential protection to a "jittery back four". Wilson further highlighted Carrick's tactical influence through statistics, pointing out that during the 2014–15 season, the team averaged 2.44 points per game with him in the starting lineup, compared to 1.41 without him. Commenting during that same season, Thierry Henry echoed this sentiment, stating: "Not only this season but every year. People do not realise the amount of work he delivers until he has gone." Furthermore, his importance to the team performance was constantly praised by former teammates Gary Neville and Paul Scholes, as well as European peers Xavi and Xabi Alonso. Additionally, in 2013, Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger backed Carrick for the PFA Players' Player of the Year award, lauding him as "a quality passer" who would be "perfectly suited" to the style of play at Barcelona, further noting that he was an underrated player in England who deserved recognition as one of the "real players at the heart of the game".

Michael Carrick is widely regarded as one of the most underrated and under-appreciated footballers in Premier League and football history. In 2015, The Daily Telegraph included him at number one in their list of "The top 20 most under-rated footballers of all time", describing him as an "unassuming but highly intelligent and technically gifted deep-lying midfielder", who "has consistently performed well".

Personal life

Carrick and Lisa Roughead, a Pilates instructor with a business degree, began dating when they were both at school. They married in Wymondham, Leicestershire, on 16 June 2007, and have a daughter and a son.

In October 2018, Carrick revealed that he had suffered from depression for two years following the defeat in the 2009 UEFA Champions League final.

His brother Graeme also works in coaching, having held roles at Newcastle United and on Middlesbrough's first‑team staff.

Career statistics

Managerial statistics

As of match played 10 September 2026

Honours

Player

West Ham United U18

FA Youth Cup: 1998–99

West Ham United

UEFA Intertoto Cup: 1999

Manchester United

Premier League: 2006–07, 2007–08, 2008–09, 2010–11, 2012–13

FA Cup: 2015–16

Football League/EFL Cup: 2008–09, 2009–10, 2016–17

FA Community Shield: 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2016

UEFA Champions League: 2007–08

UEFA Europa League: 2016–17

FIFA Club World Cup: 2008

Individual

PFA Team of the Year: 2003–04 First Division, 2012–13 Premier League

Manchester United Players' Player of the Year: 2012–13

Manager

Individual

EFL Championship Manager of the Month: March 2023

Premier League Manager of the Month: January 2026